| Team: | Buffalo Bills |
| Year: | 2013 |
| Record: | 6–10 |
| Division Place: | 4th AFC East |
| Coach: | Doug Marrone |
| General Manager: | Buddy Nix, Doug Whaley |
| Owner: | Ralph Wilson |
| Stadium: | Ralph Wilson Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | Mario Williams Kyle Williams Jairus Byrd Marcell Dareus |
| Shortnavlink: | Bills seasons |
The 2013 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 44th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the first under head coach Doug Marrone. It was also the final season under the ownership of Ralph Wilson, who died in March 2014 at the age of 95. The team equaled their record from 2012 and missed the playoffs, increasing their playoff drought to 14 seasons. This was the first year of renewed leases on Ralph Wilson Stadium and for the Bills Toronto Series, both of which were signed in the preceding offseason.
The Toronto series was originally set to expire in 2017, but was cancelled in December 2014; the lease on Ralph Wilson Stadium expired in 2022 and was presumably the last long-term agreement with the aging stadium, as the lease specifies that the process of exploring a new stadium began during the lease period. The Bills also started the 2013 season with a new starting quarterback, first-round draft pick EJ Manuel, after previous starter Ryan Fitzpatrick refused a pay cut and was subsequently released.
See main article: 2013 NFL draft.
Notes
The Bills traded their first- and third-round selections (8th and 71st overall) to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for the Rams' first-, second-, third- and seventh-round selections (16th, 46th, 78th and 222nd overall).
The Bills traded their original seventh-round selection (214th overall) to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for quarterback Tarvaris Jackson.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 11 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 44–20 | 1–0 | Lucas Oil Stadium | Recap | |
| 2 | August 16 | Minnesota Vikings | W 20–16 | 2–0 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | Recap | |
| 3 | August 24 | at Washington Redskins | L 7–30 | 2–1 | FedExField | Recap | |
| 4 | August 29 | Detroit Lions | L 13–35 | 2–2 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | Recap |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | New England Patriots | L 21–23 | 0–1 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | Recap | |
| 2 | September 15 | Carolina Panthers | W 24–23 | 1–1 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | Recap | |
| 3 | September 22 | at New York Jets | L 20–27 | 1–2 | MetLife Stadium | Recap | |
| 4 | September 29 | Baltimore Ravens | W 23–20 | 2–2 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | Recap | |
| 5 | at Cleveland Browns | L 24–37 | 2–3 | FirstEnergy Stadium | Recap | ||
| 6 | October 13 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 24–27 | 2–4 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | Recap | |
| 7 | October 20 | at Miami Dolphins | W 23–21 | 3–4 | Sun Life Stadium | Recap | |
| 8 | October 27 | at New Orleans Saints | L 17–35 | 3–5 | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | Recap | |
| 9 | November 3 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 13–23 | 3–6 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | Recap | |
| 10 | November 10 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 10–23 | 3–7 | Heinz Field | Recap | |
| 11 | November 17 | New York Jets | W 37–14 | 4–7 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | Recap | |
| 12 | Bye | ||||||
| 13 | December 1 | Atlanta Falcons | L 31–34 | 4–8 | Recap | ||
| 14 | December 8 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 6–27 | 4–9 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap | |
| 15 | December 15 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 27–20 | 5–9 | EverBank Field | Recap | |
| 16 | December 22 | Miami Dolphins | W 19–0 | 6–9 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | Recap | |
| 17 | December 29 | at New England Patriots | L 20–34 | 6–10 | Gillette Stadium | Recap | |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
# Indicates that the game was part of the Bills Toronto Series.Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 35-yard field goal with five seconds left to give the Patriots the win.
With the loss, the Bills began the season 0–1.
Buffalo trailed for most of their Week 2 game against the Panthers but took the lead with two seconds left after Stevie Johnson caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from EJ Manuel. Dan Carpenter kicked the extra point to give the Bills a 24–23 win.
With the win, Buffalo improved to 1–1.
With the loss, the Bills fell to 1–2.
The Bills defense intercepted Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco five times in this game, as Flacco completed only 50% of his passes. Despite the five turnovers, the game was still somewhat close, but the Bills won the game 23–20.
With the win, the Bills improved to 2–2.
EJ Manuel left the game for the Bills with a knee injury, and was replaced by Jeff Tuel. The Bills had a 24–17 lead in the third quarter, but the Browns, who also lost quarterback Brian Hoyer, won the game with Brandon Weeden at the helm. T. J. Ward returned an interception 44 yards to seal the game.
With the loss, the Bills fell to 2–3.
The Bills trailed 24–10 in the fourth quarter, but came back to tie the game after Marquise Goodwin caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from Thad Lewis and force overtime. In the extra period, the Bills got the ball first, but were forced to punt after they went three-and-out. The Bengals returned the punt 39 yards to set them up in field goal range. A couple of plays later, Mike Nugent kicked the game winning 43-yard field goal.
With the tough loss, the Bills fell to 2–4.
With the win, the Bills improved to 3–4.
This marked the Bills' only game outside of the Eastern time zone during the 2013 season.
Despite Buffalo's defense not allowing a touchdown, the offense gave up two turnover returns for touchdowns in the second half. With the loss, the Bills fell to 3–6.
With the loss, the Bills fell to 3–7.
With the win, the Bills improved to 4–7.
With the loss, the Bills fell to 4–9.
With the win, the Bills improved to 5–9, but were eliminated from playoff contention with the Miami Dolphins' win over the New England Patriots.
With the win, the Bills improved to 6–9. This was also the last home game that the Bills didn't sell out. Since the next game (Week 2 of the 2014 season against the Dolphins), every Bills home game has been sold out.
With the loss, the Bills ended their season at 6–10.[1]